My Mom

I haven't been around much the past few days.  My mom lives in Florida and on Tuesday she had a TIA.  A TIA, is a little stroke or a mini stroke.  She has had a couple in the past.  Thank goodness she was with her best friend at the doctor for her knee.  Yes, she is still having lots and lots of pain from her knee replacement.  What happened on Tuesday is that after her appointment, she and her friend were walking out of the building and they had just walked into the sun and my mom said that she got dizzy.  My mom's friend grabbed her and she about fell.  My mom's friend said that my mom's body went one way and her legs went the other.  Another couple was coming out of the building and saw that my mom's friend needed help.  My mom's friend told them to call 911.  My mom's friend got her to the bench.  But, my mom almost fell.  The 911 squad came and checked her out.  Her friend told them that she has had TIA's before.  They put her on the stretcher and put her in the rescue squad and did an EKG.  My mom's friend said that her kids would feel better if they would take her to the hospital, but my mom would not go.  The paramedics checked her over and said since she wouldn't go that they felt she was okay.  My mom's friend took her back to where she lives.  She went in there and told the wellness coordinator what happened.  She escorted my mom to the dining room to eat.  My mom's friend called me when she got home and said, "Your Mom is fine, BUT.........."  Have you ever got one of those calls ?!?!?  Oh, how your stomach sinks and you get lumps in your throat.  So, my mom called me after lunch and I immediately said, how are you?!??!?!  I said I know what happened, that Mrs. Church had called.  She said that she was tired, which is always the case after these.  She told me she wanted to rest and I told her that I would call her in an hour and a half to see if she would answer the phone.  Basically to see if she was alive.  She did answer the phone.  WHEW !!  It just so happened that she had an appointment with her cardiologist on Wednesday (yesterday).  Come to find out, she hasn't been taking her baby aspirin, her cholesterol medicine and one of her high blood pressure medicines.  Her cardiologist is going to do a carotid artery scan on her neck.  Those are the arteries in your neck that supply blood to your head and neck.  The soonest that test can be done is November 19. 

My brother's and I have a lot of decisions we have to make now.  My dad has been dead almost 2 years.  We can't have the stress in our lives having her over 1,000 miles away.  She said that she hasn't been taking those 3 medicines since she had the knee surgery.  She said she was told to stop.  Why or when or if she was told to stop them, we do not know.  Having her with us we would know all of this.  I go down to see her November 9.  This will probably be the toughest trip that I will ever make in my life.  Knowing what her future looks like.  She doesn't want to move closer to us.  She wants to be with her friends.  She and my dad retired in Florida over 20 years ago.  My mom doesn't drive anymore since her first stroke.  She has friends, she has church friends and other organizations that she belongs to that she has friends in.  It is going to be hard.  But, Mrs. Church said to present it like this.  Tell her that it is too hard on us kids to have her so far away and the stress that it puts on us.  She has really gone down hill since she had her knee replaced.  It is just hard being the only daughter in this situation.  It is time for her to be with us and she isn't going to understand, I am afraid.  We will find her a nice place.  We will let her have input to were she will live.  It is not like we are putting her in prison or anything.  She just needs to be with us kids, so we can take her to her appointments.  Manage her medicine, etc.  The time is come, the hard thing to do now is to tell her.  Hard... hard.. hard !!!!!!!! 

Thanks for listening !!  :)